Golden State will rehire Nelson, the second-winningest coach in NBA history and the last coach to lead the downtrodden Warriors to the playoffs, today, a league source told The Associated Press.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn't been completed, said Nelson, 66, settled his differences with Warriors owner Chris Cohan and agreed to return to the club where he went 277-260 from 1988-95 and led Golden State to its last playoff appearance in 1994. ESPN.com first reported the deal.

Nelson, a three-time NBA coach of the year, has won 1,190 games in a career that includes stops in Milwaukee, New York and Dallas, where he won 339 games and led the Mavericks' revitalization from 1998 until March 2005, when he left amid health concerns.

The Warriors scheduled a news conference for tonight but didn't divulge the reason.

Almost nothing good has happened to the Warriors since Nelson, a three-time NBA coach of the year, left in December 1995. Montgomery -- the Warriors' eighth coach in 12 seasons since Nelson's departure -- had identical 34-48 records in his two seasons with the club.

"Based on this agreement, we will now focus our efforts in a different direction and do what we think is in the best interest for this team," Chris Mullin, the Warriors' executive vice president, said in a statement.

The move is curiously timed, since the club opens training camp in five weeks in Oakland. Mullin, who played for Nelson throughout the coach's tenure, has been thought to be unhappy with Montgomery for most of the past two years, but the Warriors' top executive repeatedly stated Montgomery would return for the upcoming season.

Nelson's arrival might be the necessary move to drum up interest in the Warriors, who promised big offseason changes after missing the playoffs for the 12th consecutive season. Mullin couldn't deliver any dramatic moves, only swapping Derek Fisher to the Utah Jazz for three players.

Montgomery, 59, had two years remaining on a 4-year, $10 million contract he signed before the 2004-05 season.